West Midlands Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Trident Nuclear Weapons

April 2017

NIS (Nuclear Information Service) has released a report discussing the accident record of the UK’s nuclear weapons programme over its 65 year history. The report describes 110 accidents, near misses, and dangerous occurrences that have occurred over the 65 year history of the UK’s nuclear weapons programme.

With official approval for renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system and the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station coming within weeks of each other, the links between the military and civilian nuclear industries in the UK are again in the spotlight.

PLANS by the UK Government to privatise military guards at nuclear bases on the Clyde have come under attack by both the SNP and Labour. The proposal has been branded as “chilling” and “dangerous”, with both parties now working to persuade Westminster to drop the idea. If it goes ahead private security companies, like G4S and Mitie, would bid to run the service currently carried out by the Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS), including the protection of nuclear submarines at Faslane and the Trident warhead storage site at Coulport.

Jeremy Corbyn faced a fresh split over Labour’s policy on Trident after his shadow defence secretary said she would be prepared to use the nuclear deterrent. The Labour leader put himself on a collision course with his shadow cabinet last year by declaring that he would never launch a nuclear strike if he was prime minister. But Nia Griffith said it was “absolutely vital” that politicians should be prepared to use Trident – “otherwise it’s not a deterrent”. She also revealed that the Labour leader’s office had not checked her views on Trident before offering her the job last yea